The words of the name come from the French for "hear and determine" -- to inspect or hear evidence about a claim, and then to decide or settle the claim. Such a court was created to inquire into "all treasons, felonies and misdemeanours" in the jurisdiction named in creating the special court. The court was empowered to decide whether to indict the accused, and then to "hear and determine" -- to take testimony and decide on the guilt of the accused. Thus, the court was essentially both prosecutor and judge of the accused. The court of Oyer and Terminer in the Salem witch trials was created in 1692 by the royal governor of Massachusetts, William Phips, and then dissolved in 1693. It was replaced by a Superior Court of Judicature to dispose of the remaining cases.
New York, Pennsylvania and Georgia are among the states in the United States have used such courts. New York abolished the Oyer and Terminer courts in 1896.
See also: Judges in the Salem Witch Trials
